Ruen Brothers

With their dusky vocal harmonies and love of twangy ’50s rock, England’s Ruen Brothers have a sound that harks back to a rock & roll past but gives it a modern urgency. Emerging in London in 2013 with their rockabilly-tinged single “Aces,” the brothers caught the attention of Republic Records. From there, they moved to the States, where they recorded their debut album, 2018′s All My Shades of Blue, with legendary producer Rick Rubin. Although vintage rock, film noir, and western sounds remain at the core of Ruen Brothers sound, albums like 2021′s Ultramodern and 2023′s Ten Paces have revealed the duo’s post-modern knack for blending those old-school aesthetics with a contemporary pop sensibility.
Hailing from the steel town of Scunthorpe, England, siblings Henry Stansall (lead singer/rhythm guitarist) and Rupert Stansall (singer/lead guitarist) were introduced to music at a young age. Growing up, they listened to their father’s vintage vinyl collection, imbibing the rootsy sounds of classic artists like Johnny Cash, Van Morrison, and the Everly Brothers. By their teens, the Ruen Brothers (an amalgam of their first names) were playing as a duo, harmonizing on cover songs at local pubs and writing their own material. Over time, they developed their distinctive sound, balancing mid-century rock traditions with noir-ish lyrics and a style rife with a David Lynch-ian theatricality.
After a move to London around 2013, they rented a flat and split their time between recording and traveling back to Scunthorpe for pub gigs. It was during this period that they uploaded several tracks online, including posting tracks to the BBC Music Introducing app. Soon, their song “Aces” was getting played on the radio, and both fans and the industry began to take notice. The Ruen Brothers signed with Republic Records and traveled to the States, appearing at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival and opening for George Ezra on tour. After relocating to Los Angeles, they recorded their debut album, 2018′s Rick Rubin-produced All My Shades of Blue.
In 2020, the duo contributed the song “Break the Rules” to the soundtrack of the Netflix coming-of-age drama The Half of It. A year later, they returned with their sophomore full-length, Ultramodern. With the title’s wry, somewhat tongue-in-cheek reference to the 1950′s obsession with modernism, the album found them further blending their vintage rock and country & western influences with a savvy, often synth-accented contemporary pop sound. They kept the decade- and genre-mashing approach going with 2023′s Ten Paces, mixing pop hooks with their love of classic noir and western soundtracks. ~ Matt Collar